Fine search sought porn

Federal agents seized photographs and records from residence, office

BRENDAN J. LYON, Times Union

By BRENDAN J. LYONS, Senior writer

Updated 7:31 am, Wednesday, December 7, 2011

FILE - In this March 25, 2010, file photo, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, left, and associate head basketball coach Bernie Fine sit on the bench at the end an NCAA West Regional semifinal college basketball game against Butler in Salt Lake City. Fine was fired Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011, in the wake of an investigation of child molestation allegations against him. In statement released Sunday night, Kevin Quinn, the school's senior vice president for public affairs, says Fine has been "terminated, effective immediately." (AP Photo/Steve C. Wilson, File)

FILE - In this March 25, 2010, file photo, Syracuse coach Jim...

NEW YORK - FILE: Assistant coach Bernie Fine of the Syracuse Orange looks on from the sidelines during their game against the Connecticut Huskies during the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 12, 2009 in New York City. According to reports on November 27, 2011, Syracuse University has fired assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine over allegations of child molestation. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

A reporter walks up to Syracuse University men's basketball associate head coach Bernie Fine's house in DeWitt, N.Y., Friday, Nov. 18, 2011. Fine did not come to the door. Fine was placed on administrative leave Thursday, Nov. 17, after old child molesting allegations resurfaced. (AP Photo/Kevin Rivoli)

A reporter walks up to Syracuse University men's basketball...

This still frame provided by ESPN from a Nov. 17, 2011 video in Syracuse, N.Y. shows Bobby Davis, 39, during an ESPN interview in which he said he was molested by longtime Syracuse University assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine beginning in 1984. The school placed Fine on administrative leave Thursday night, Nov. 17, 2011, "in light of the new allegations" and an investigation by the Syracuse City Police. (AP Photo/ESPN) NO SALES, NO ARCHIVES, FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY

ALBANY — Federal agents seized computers, photographs, cameras, dozens of compact discs and other records from the home and office of a former Syracuse University associate basketball coach, Bernie Fine, who is under investigation for allegations he sexually abused young boys.

The records were filed Friday and unsealed on Monday, less than a week after the Times Union and the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle had filed requests in U.S. District Court asking for the documents to be made public.

The search warrants were used to seize the materials from Fine's residence near Syracuse, as well as his university office and three safe deposit boxes. Seven letters were seized from at least one of the safe deposit boxes, but it's unclear what the content of the letters are about.

Investigators also received court authorization to seize any travel documents possessed by Fine, including records or receipts related to interstate or foreign travel.

The court records do not indicate whether police found any incriminating files, videos or pictures in the records seized from Fine's residence and office. The records taken include a disposable camera, more than a half dozen cell phones or handheld computer devices, 12 VHS tapes, film rolls, laptop computers and other materials, including filing cabinets and their contents.

The warrants indicate that investigators were seeking any evidence of pornographic materials "that could have been used to sexually arouse or groom young males to engage in sex acts ..."

Fine was fired Nov. 27 after three men accused him of molesting them when they were boys.

The 65-year-old Fine has denied wrongdoing, calling the allegations "patently false." He has declined further comment.

Normally, search warrant materials that are part of ongoing criminal investigations remain sealed until there are criminal charges filed or a determination by the Justice Department that no charges will be pursued. But Assistant U.S. Attorney William Pericak said that federal prosecutors in recent days had internal discussions and decided to file the search warrant records publicly after determining the information "will not impair the investigation."

Authorities are investigating whether Fine took minors across state lines for sex, which is a felony. He could be charged should investigators find child pornography in his possession, although there has been no indication from law enforcement officials that they have recovered those types of materials.

Two former ball boys told ESPN last month that Fine molested them decades ago. Bobby Davis, now 39, said that Fine molested him beginning in 1984 and that the sexual contact continued until he was around 27.

Davis, a ball boy for six years, said the abuse occurred at Fine's home, at Syracuse basketball facilities and on team road trips, including the 1987 Final Four.

Davis' 45-year-old stepbrother, Mike Lang, who also was a ball boy, told ESPN that Fine began molesting him while he was in the fifth or sixth grade.

The university fired Fine after a third accuser stepped forward and ESPN played an audiotape, recorded by Davis, of an October 2002 telephone conversation between him and a woman ESPN identified as Fine's wife, Laurie Fine, in which she says she knew "everything that went on."

The third accuser, 23-year-old Zach Tomaselli, of Lewiston, Maine, emerged last week. He said he told police that Fine molested him in 2002 in a Pittsburgh hotel room after a game.

Tomaselli, who faces sex abuse charges in Maine, told The Associated Press on Monday that he sexually abused a boy when the victim was 13 and 14 years old. He said he knew the boy.

He has pleaded not guilty to 11 charges but told the AP he anticipates that he'll plead guilty. He said he doesn't want to hide behind an attorney anymore.

"The only thing that transpired was the same stuff that happened to me," Tomaselli said of his relationship with the teenage boy in Maine. "This kid has been through a lot because of the way I controlled him and abused him."